The possible trial of the junior military officers, who are under technical arrest, coincides with a larger effort to unmask more senior figures possibly both within the government and the opposition behind Sunday's 22-hour mutiny.

Military chief of staff General Narciso Abaya has ordered the convening of a task force "so we can investigate those involved," armed forces spokesman Colonel Daniel Lucero said.

"This task force will be composed of 10 teams, from the major services," Lucero said on local radio. "The result of the investigation will determine the organization of the court martial."

He said the soldiers who occupied part of a shopping mall in the Makati financial district on Sunday had been placed under the custody of their respective service commanders.

Lucero said their movements were being "restricted" and they would not be allowed out of their headquarters. He saaid there were security measures to keep them from fleeing.

"We will give them a fair trial, we will give them a day in court to explain their side," Lucero said.

Almost 300 soldiers staged the mutiny, setting explosives around the shipping mall, accusing the government of President Gloria Arroyo of selling munitions to rebel groups, carrying out terrorist bombings and planning to declare martial law.

Some 22 hours later, the plotters agreed to return to the barracks after negotiators promised to improve security on military weapons and investigate the bombings.

However government officials charged that civilians with links to the political opposition were behind the plot.

But opposition leaders Tuesday rejected accusations of being behind the alleged coup attempt.

Senator Gregorio Honasan, amnestied for his role in several coup attempts in the 1980s, said he would show up on the Senate floor later Tuesday to explain his views despite government threats to arrest him.

Honasan was conspicuously absent when Congress resumed sessions Monday.

In an interview on local radio Tuesday Honasan denied he was in hiding. He said he had received guarantees from Senate President Franklin Drilon that he would not be arrested at the chamber.

Honasan acknowledged that he had allowed the leaders of the mutiny access to his office for "assistance and input in my National Recovery Program," referring to his political platform which he had been promoting in recent months.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes on Tuesday vowed to uncover the hidden "traitors" behind the plot.

"I want to find out who is behind this mutiny, this rebellion so we will know who are these traitors," Reyes said.

"Perhaps (the mutineers) were used unknowingly or they might have been used with their knowledge... but the ones who used them were politically motivated."

"They were well-funded, they had equipment that did not come from the military so it means they had support from the outside," he said.

Reyes did not say who was behind the plot but authorities have detained Ramon Cardenas, a former aide of deposed president Joseph Estrada after weapons allegedly used by the mutineers were seized from his home.

Estrada was ousted in a popular, military-backed uprising in 2001 and is being detained while facing trial for corruption. He has denied any role in the mutiny but expressed "sheer admiration" for the mutineers.

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